KENOSHA — A former Bradford High School substitute teacher is now behind bars for preying on a student. On Thursday, Alex Poyner was sentenced to five years — two years of initial confinement in a Wisconsin state prison followed by three years of extended supervision — after pleading guilty to sending explicit sexual messages to a then-15-year-old male student. He must also register as a sex offender for 15 years.
The case first came to light in October 2024 when the student confided in an assistant principal, who immediately alerted a school resource officer. Poyner, who also worked as a substitute in West Allis-West Milwaukee and at Nicolet Union High School, had been messaging the boy on Instagram throughout 2024. He was charged in February 2025 with 17 counts of sexual misconduct.
Poyner worked as a substitute teacher at Bradford High School in the Kenosha Unified School District from October 2020 until resigning in April 2024. He also substituted in the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District from September 2021 until October 2024, when he was placed on administrative leave during an internal misconduct investigation and resigned shortly afterward, and briefly at Nicolet Union High School in September 2024. The case was reported in late October 2024 but charges weren’t filed until February 2025 under District Attorney Xavier Solis, who took office in January and pursued the maximum sentence.
In court, the victim’s mother spoke through her pain: “Thinking why my son, why any child. Teachers are supposed to look out for the best interest for the children and the community, and Mr. Poyner has failed to do that.” Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis pushed hard for the maximum sentence, declaring, “We take these types of crimes very seriously, especially when individuals are in a place of trust.”
Cases like Poyner’s show why Wisconsin needed stronger tools. State Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) authored Assembly Bill 677, which was signed into law on March 6, 2026. The law created the state’s first standalone felony definition of grooming — a course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts intended to condition, seduce, solicit, lure, or entice a child for sexual purposes.
When the offender holds a position of trust or authority, such as a teacher or substitute, the crime becomes a Class F felony punishable by up to 12 years and six months in prison and a $25,000 fine. Convicted offenders must register as sex offenders, and the statute of limitations runs until the victim turns 45.
Before Nedweski’s bill, prosecutors were limited to weaker misdemeanor charges for the very behaviors that prepare children for abuse. The new law changes that. It delivers real felony prison time for adults who exploit their authority through messages, emotional manipulation, and boundary-crossing contact — precisely the pattern seen in the Poyner case and others.
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